§ 93A-4. Applications for licenses; fees; qualifications; examinations; privilege licenses; renewal or reinstatement of license; power to enforce provisions.
§ 93A‑4. Applicationsfor licenses; fees; qualifications; examinations; privilege licenses; renewalor reinstatement of license; power to enforce provisions.
(a) Any person,partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or otherbusiness entity hereafter desiring to enter into business of and obtain alicense as a real estate broker shall make written application for such licenseto the Commission in the form and manner prescribed by the Commission. Eachapplicant for a license as a real estate broker shall be at least 18 years ofage. Each applicant for a license as a real estate broker shall, within threeyears preceding the date the application is made, have satisfactorilycompleted, at a school approved by the Commission, an education programconsisting of at least 75 hours of classroom instruction in subjects determinedby the Commission, or shall possess real estate education or experience in realestate transactions which the Commission shall find equivalent to the educationprogram. Each applicant for a license as a real estate broker shall be requiredto pay a fee, fixed by the Commission but not to exceed thirty dollars($30.00).
(a1) Each person who isissued a real estate broker license on or after April 1, 2006, shall initiallybe classified as a provisional broker and shall, within three years followinginitial licensure, satisfactorily complete, at a school approved by theCommission, a postlicensing education program consisting of 90 hours ofclassroom instruction in subjects determined by the Commission or shall possessreal estate education or experience in real estate transactions which theCommission shall find equivalent to the education program. The Commission may,by rule, establish a schedule for completion of the prescribed postlicensingeducation that requires provisional brokers to complete portions of the 90‑hourpostlicensing education program in less than three years, and provisionalbrokers must comply with this schedule in order to be entitled to activelyengage in real estate brokerage. Upon completion of the postlicensing educationprogram, the provisional status of the broker's license shall be terminated.When a provisional broker fails to complete all 90 hours of requiredpostlicensing education within three years following initial licensure, thebroker's license shall be cancelled, and the Commission may, in its discretion,require the person whose license was cancelled to satisfy the postlicensingeducation program and the requirements for original licensure prescribed inthis Chapter as a condition of license reinstatement, including the examinationrequirements and the license reinstatement fee prescribed by subsection (c) ofthis section.
(a2) An approved schoolshall pay a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) per licensee to the Commission for eachlicensee completing a postlicensing education course conducted by the school,provided that these fees shall not be charged to a community college, juniorcollege, college, or university located in this State and accredited by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools.
(b) Except as otherwiseprovided in this Chapter, any person who submits an application to theCommission in proper manner for a license as real estate broker shall berequired to take an examination. The examination may be administered orally, bycomputer, or by any other method the Commission deems appropriate. TheCommission may require the applicant to pay the Commission or a providercontracted by the Commission the actual cost of the examination and itsadministration. The cost of the examination and its administration shall be inaddition to any other fees the applicant is required to pay under subsection(a) of this section. The examination shall determine the applicant'squalifications with due regard to the paramount interests of the public as tothe applicant's competency. A person who fails the license examination shall beentitled to know the result and score. A person who passes the exam shall benotified only that the person passed the examination. Whether a person passedor failed the examination shall be a matter of public record; however, thescores for license examinations shall not be considered public records. Nothingin this subsection shall limit the rights granted to any person under G.S. 93B‑8.
An applicant for licensureunder this Chapter shall satisfy the Commission that he or she possesses thecompetency, honesty, truthfulness, integrity, and general moral characternecessary to protect the public interest and promote public confidence in thereal estate brokerage business. The Commission may investigate the moralcharacter of each applicant for licensure and require an applicant to providethe Commission with a criminal record report. All applicants shall obtaincriminal record reports from one or more reporting services designated by theCommission to provide criminal record reports. Applicants are required to paythe designated reporting service for the cost of these reports. If the resultsof any required competency examination and investigation of the applicant'smoral character shall be satisfactory to the Commission, then the Commissionshall issue to the applicant a license, authorizing the applicant to act as areal estate broker in the State of North Carolina, upon the payment ofprivilege taxes now required by law or that may hereafter be required by law.
Notwithstanding G.S. 150B‑38(c),in a contested case commenced upon the request of a party applying forlicensure regarding the question of the moral character or fitness of theapplicant, if notice has been reasonably attempted, but cannot be given to theapplicant personally or by certified mail in accordance with G.S. 150B‑38(c),the notice of hearing shall be deemed given to the applicant when a copy of thenotice is deposited in an official depository of the United States PostalService addressed to the applicant at the latest mailing address provided bythe applicant to the Commission or by any other means reasonably designed toachieve actual notice to the applicant.
(b1) The Department ofJustice may provide a criminal record check to the Commission for a person whohas applied for a license through the Commission. The Commission shall provideto the Department of Justice, along with the request, the fingerprints of theapplicant, any additional information required by the Department of Justice,and a form signed by the applicant consenting to the check of the criminalrecord and to the use of the fingerprints and other identifying informationrequired by the State or national repositories. The applicant's fingerprintsshall be forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation for a search of theState's criminal history record file, and the State Bureau of Investigationshall forward a set of the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigationfor a national criminal history check. The Commission shall keep allinformation pursuant to this subsection privileged, in accordance withapplicable State law and federal guidelines, and the information shall beconfidential and shall not be a public record under Chapter 132 of the GeneralStatutes.
The Department of Justice maycharge each applicant a fee for conducting the checks of criminal historyrecords authorized by this subsection.
(c) All licenses issuedby the Commission under the provisions of this Chapter shall expire on the 30thday of June following issuance or on any other date that the Commission maydetermine and shall become invalid after that date unless reinstated. A licensemay be renewed 45 days prior to the expiration date by filing an applicationwith and paying to the Executive Director of the Commission the license renewalfee. The license renewal fee is thirty dollars ($30.00) unless the Commissionsets the fee at a higher amount. The Commission may set the license renewal feeat an amount that does not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00). The license renewalfee may not increase by more than five dollars ($5.00) during a 12‑monthperiod. The Commission may adopt rules establishing a system of license renewalin which the licenses expire annually with varying expiration dates. Theserules shall provide for prorating the annual fee to cover the initial renewalperiod so that no licensee shall be charged an amount greater than the annualfee for any 12‑month period. The fee for reinstatement of an expiredlicense shall be fifty‑five dollars ($55.00). In the event a licenseefails to obtain a reinstatement of such license within six months after theexpiration date thereof, the Commission may, in its discretion, consider suchperson as not having been previously licensed, and thereby subject to theprovisions of this Chapter relating to the issuance of an original license,including the examination requirements set forth herein. Duplicate licenses maybe issued by the Commission upon payment of a fee of five dollars ($5.00) bythe licensee. Commission certification of a licensee's license history shall bemade only after the payment of a fee of ten dollars ($10.00).
(d) The Commission isexpressly vested with the power and authority to make and enforce any and allreasonable rules and regulations connected with license application,examination, renewal, and reinstatement as shall be deemed necessary toadminister and enforce the provisions of this Chapter. The Commission isfurther authorized to adopt reasonable rules and regulations necessary for theapproval of real estate schools, instructors, and textbooks and rules thatprescribe specific requirements pertaining to instruction, administration, andcontent of required education courses and programs.
(e) Nothing containedin this Chapter shall be construed as giving any authority to the Commissionnor any licensee of the Commission as authorizing any licensee to engage in thepractice of law or to render any legal service as specifically set out in G.S.84‑2.1 or any other legal service not specifically referred to in saidsection. (1957,c. 744, s. 4; 1967, c. 281, s. 3; c. 853, s. 2; 1969, c. 191, s. 3; 1973, c.1390; 1975, c. 112; 1979, c. 614, ss. 2, 3, 6; c. 616, ss. 2‑5; 1983, c.81, ss. 2, 9, 11; c. 384; 1985, c. 535, ss. 2‑5; 1995, c. 22, s. 1; 1999‑200,s. 1.; 2000‑140, s. 19(b); 2002‑147, s. 11; 2002‑168, s. 4;2003‑361, s. 1; 2005‑395, s. 5; 2007‑366, s. 2.)